We live in a highly competitive society. We are driven by competition in business and revel in the exploits of our favorite athletes. Competition is commonly used as a motivational tool in the business environment, the athletic environment, and even in the academic environment. Business and athletic competitions often foster teamwork and collective purpose in the context of team competitions. Unfortunately, this teamwork has not translated well to the academic environment. Typically, academic competitions are conducted amongst a handful of the top selected students who participate in math or spelling competitions, history or geography competitions, speech and debate competitions, and the like. A new approach to academic competition is desired that utilizes on-line technologies to foster academic competitions based on collaborative teamwork and collective purpose and that is not limited to a handful of selected students. The present invention is directed to this need.